Homemade hay cakes/cubes

[JimD]

Hello All !!

I was wondering if anybody had an idea of how to make timothy hay cakesor cubes? Nothing fancy....just plain hay without too much added.

I've got a lot of small pieces and chaff left over from filling racks.I hate to toss it in the compost pile if I can figure out a way to makecakes for the buns.
:anyone:

 

[maherwoman]

Wow...that's one I've never thought of...haveyou tried googling it? Heck, I'll try googling a few thingsright now to see what I come up with.

 

[maherwoman]

Hehe...found a site (in googling "Homemade haycubes") from the Ontario House Rabbit Society that lists out how tomake an NIC cage...

Think, cubes, homemade...hehe!! Just thought I'd add that...made me giggle.

 

[maherwoman]

*sigh* I'm trying all sorts of phrases(and can usually find something in the combinations of words that Iuse), and am not finding anything. I almost wonder if theprocess is being kept under wraps so companies can make money from thehay cubes they sell.

I'll keep lookin', though...

 

[aurora369]

You could try experimenting...

Do you have anything that you could put the small pieces and chaffunder high pressure? Try to use compression to crush themtogether dry?

Or just use a tiny bit of water, compress and bake?

--Dawn

 

[Bunman]

That might destroy the nutrients. It seems thayare made with tim hay & some alfalfa, under pressure. The alfis more moist & helps keep the cubes together. How muchpressure may be a well-kept secret.

 

[Starina]

Maybe moisten them and then use a flower press to make sheets, then press those sheets together?

I'll think about it some more.

~Star~

 

[JimD]

Thanks for all of the brainstorming!!

I think I can figure out the press.
I can use a short piece of PVC pipe and a C-clamp.
Instead of a PVC pipe, I was thinking of a short piece of metal conduit....in case I wanted to bake it?

How to get the mix to bind is the challenge.
I can try adding a bit of alfalfa.
Maybe mist it down with water...or maybe chamomile tea? Tequila?

 

[Flashy]

JimD wrote:

Maybe mist it down with water...or maybe chamomile tea? Tequila?

That is one of the best lines I have ever seen on here, lol, and coming on such a sensible post was even more amusing.

I have nothing useful to say, but this little gem of a comment has highly amused me. Very well done, lol.

 

[naturestee]

I think some companies have molasses listed intheir hay cube ingrediants. That's good and sticky, althoughit's sweet.

 

[JimD]

Flashy wrote:

JimD wrote:

Maybe mist itdown with water...or maybe chamomile tea? Tequila?

That is one of the best lines I have ever seen on here, lol, and coming on such a sensible post was even more amusing.

I have nothing useful to say, but this little gem of a comment has highly amused me. Very well done, lol.

:thankyou:

 

[Flashy]

JimD wrote:
:thankyou:

:great::great::great::great::great:

(and I don't know why it didn't quote your bowing properly, but never mind)

 

[JimD]

naturestee wrote:

I think some companies have molasses listed in their haycube ingrediants. That's good and sticky, although it's sweet.

That was actually the first thing that came to mind....the second thought was that it might be too much sugar.

And then I thought about honey.

 

[JimD]

Very frustrating!!!

I can't find anything on the processing!!!

It's got to be something really simple that doesn't need any kind of regulating or anything.
How the heck do they get the 100% timothy cubes to bind without adding alfalfa or anything??

 

[wackoweird]

i registered just to reply to this thread cos i was looking for the exact same solution but could not find it.



hope this video answers your questions on how they make the cakes at an industrial level, but i still wonder how to DIY the process !

 

[Diane R]

I really wouldn't bother. If you get the hay wet it will get mouldy. Almost anything you think of adding will not be good for them. And hay cakes are not great food anyway, for proper dental wear they need to eat long stemmed hay.

 

[Gelly]

You can make treats by maybe using banana, oats, the hay and then baking it. I was literally just researching this. Try Pinterest. They have so many recipes for homemade bunny treats using the hay leftovers.